We are happiest when we win against India: Mehedi Hasan Miraj

POBNEWS24, Dhaka, Jan 16, 2026 : Mehedi Hasan Miraj hit Deepak Chahar’s ball over extra cover. He jumped up in joy before the ball touched the boundary, and then the Bangladesh team’s dugout erupted in jubilation. That moment of Bangladesh’s historic 1-wicket dramatic victory over India in Mirpur in 2022 seems to flash before our eyes.
However, Miraj scored a brilliant century under pressure not only in one match but also in the second match in that series. This all-rounder not only won the series with his extraordinary performance with bat and ball, but also won the player of the series award.
While speaking at a press conference on Thursday about the temporarily suspended BPL, the 28-year-old Miraj recalled the memory of that India-India slaughter. He said that the victory against India is the most joyful for them, because they brought that victory themselves.
Recently, after the prayer mahfil organized in memory of Khaleda Zia at the BCB, there was a strong reaction among the country’s cricketers over a comment made by director M Nazmul Islam. In this regard, Miraj said at a hotel in Banani yesterday, many people wrongly think that cricketers get money from the government. In reality, they earn money by playing on the field and give a large part of their income as tax to the government. In his words, cricketers pay the highest income tax rate in the country.
Miraj spoke about the same issue even after the final decision was made at night after the discussion on the BPL. He said that although there are many businessmen in the country, not all of them regularly pay the highest tax. However, in the case of cricketers, tax is deducted before paying money, so they compulsorily pay tax correctly, which is a positive aspect.
Miraj said that cricketers usually pay tax at a rate of 25 percent, which is the highest tax rate. Although it is not possible to say exactly who pays what percentage of tax, he said from his own experience that he has seen senior cricketers like Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim as the highest taxpayers many times.
Meanwhile, BPL Governing Council Member Secretary Iftekhar Rahman Mithu said that BCB gets a large amount of revenue from the ICC because of the cricketers. He praised Miraj’s dedication and professionalism and said that if anyone questions Miraj’s efforts, it would be completely wrong. Cricketers are the country’s biggest asset, and it is because of them that TV rights and revenue from the field come.
There has been a long discussion about moving Bangladesh’s match in the T20 World Cup from India. If the Bangladesh team does not participate in the World Cup, there is a risk of a large financial loss for the BCB. Because whether the title is won or not, each participating team receives a minimum fee from the ICC. In this regard, Nazmul recently commented that if the board wants, it can ask for a refund of the money spent on the cricketers on the pretext of not being able to play – but that is not being done.
The BCB has now taken action against Nazmul, who was once decided by Mithun and Miraj to boycott the match demanding Nazmul’s resignation. The board has issued him a show cause notice and asked him to respond in writing within 48 hours. He has also been removed from all responsibilities, including the head of the finance committee, but he still remains as a BCB director.